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Woodbury Common may see more well-heeled visitors. (Photo: Wikipedia)

Mainland China's visitor traffic to the U.S. continues to grow by double-digit percentages, but America's sustained foreign-tourism growth is destined to gain a Chinese fillip: visa-free travel from Taiwan. This commenced on Nov. 1.

The prosperous island jurisdiction is not recognized diplomatically by the U.S., so this new waiver status is a bit of a coup. It likely means that Taiwan, which ranked 22nd among foreign sources of American visits in 2011 (290,000, per the International Trade Administration), will show a jump come 2013. (It was static between 2010 and 2011.) The Taiwanese bring spending power, which will boost obvious tourism zones in California and elsewhere on the Pacific Coast, as well of course as New York. A particular favorite there, I'm told, is the Woodbury Common outlet mall, owned by Simon Property Group. China Airlines and rival Taiwan carrier Eva will pick up much of the passenger count. A more concentrated bet for investors might be hotel property in the Flushing district of the borough of Queens, an ethnic Asian hub.

More important for the sake of the broader world, the continuing welcome extended to Taiwan in the realm of commerce, as opposed to the one of international politics, is a vote of confidence in democratic capitalism as practiced on the periphery of China. (Visitors from the PRC to the U.S. still need visas--and vice versa.) Over the long run, if the Taiwanese model sets the tone for the outsized neighbor, this may mean that millions of future mainland Chinese tourists can themselves spend more freely--in every respect.